Inside the Ride: Behind-the-Scenes of the 2024 Slide-In Tour
By IV Stuart
From the sunny hills of Trollhaugen, WI, to the snow-covered slopes of Killington, VT, Red Bull Slide-In Tour 2024 left no stone unturned. Zeb and his crew, fellow Red Bull athletes Jesse Augustinus and Grace Warner, hype-man and shredder Alex Caccamo (joining after the Trollhaugen stop), as well as fellow North Carolina ripper Brantley Mullens, and music producer Tweek Tune were able to bounce around the Midwest and the East Coast, from stop-to-stop, shredding with fans and hyping up kids for the entirety of the 20-hour journey.
Trollhaugen Ski Area
Stop 1 of Red Bull Slide-In Tour brought Zeb and the gang to beautiful Dresser, WI, home of Trollhaugen Ski Area. Sitting on 260 vertical feet, it’s a hub throughout snowboarding for some of the Midwest's best rail riders. After the hour drive from Minneapolis, the crew moved slowly out of the RV, except for Jesse, of course. Following a few laps to get his legs under him, we proceeded to stack clips on pretty much every feature, while the rest of the crew made their way onto the hill.
The gang loved the setup; stacking clips came with ease. Zeb dazzled us with switch BS 5-0 tail-tap 180 out and blunt switch-ups on the infamous long down bar, and Grace worked her switch BS blunt sameway until it was perfection, landing with that trademark beanie-covering-eyes look. In between dodging other riders and young skiers, the crew was able to get more impeccable footage. Brantley was able to get a very stylish Japan air. Other notable standouts would be Jesse dismantling the rainbow rail, doing every trick switch and regular, and of course, who could forget that no-name hero who decided to chuck a triple on the bottom jump of Valhalla run.
With one amazing filming session under their belts, the whole gang went down for après in the lodge, along with the first official autograph signing of the tour. Zeb reminds me of Bam Margera in the early 2000s with the amount of autographs I’ve seen this kid sign. He’ll sign anything for anybody, with a smile on his face, and he won’t stop until everyone gets the photo they wanted or the autograph they needed.
Pine Knob Ski and Snowboard Resort
Following three days of travel, bouncing from Minneapolis to Chicago, and further on to Detroit, picking up Slide-In Tour alumnus Alex Caccamo along the way, the gang found themselves headed to Pine Knob Ski Resort, located in Clarkston, Michigan, also the home resort of Slide-In Tour attendee, Grace Warner, for the second stop of the tour.
As the gang got their legs warm, the snow started to warm as well. Jesse was the first to get underway, stacking footage, which is nothing new if you haven’t noticed; switch BSBS-pretzel on the rainbow to FS 360 jam off the next feature, a favorite clip of mine. Alex was bringing out his switch blunt 270s, mirroring his regular blunt 270s on the gap-out rail; that late-night McDonald's order to cure his stomach ache wasn’t going to slow him down. That was the same rail Grace showed off her frontside 270 skills on. Brantley was ripping around all morning, lacing up some 3-piece lines, with a beautiful indy FS 360 over the center spine, while Zeb was simultaneously getting scenic with pole jam BS 360s, and the lake in the background.
Within the span of 2 hours, the place went from us being the only people there to tip-to-tail going into the features, a constant flow of people on and off the rope. The down-flat-down rail setup at the bottom of the park nearest the tow rope line surprisingly caused no casualties. The day progressed, and the chaos only ensued more; locals shotgunning beers mid axle-stall on top of the notorious shortbus feature included.
After a long day of riding and stacking clips with the gang, they proceeded to one of the largest autograph lines in the state of Michigan's history. Zeb referred to it as the craziest fan day ever, constantly getting swarmed by groups of people throughout the day. With the line dwindling down, and the gang growing cold, Brantley and Grace decided to go ahead and walk through the line, signing items and taking photos as they went, while Zeb and the rest of the gang stayed posted up, continuously signing items and taking photos.
Sugarbush Resort
Subsequently, after 3 days road-tripping across the country, collecting souvenirs along the way; notable mentions being skull-embossed chalices, trucker t-shirts, rings shaped like wrenches, inappropriate stickers, and cowboy hats. Collecting memories from notable excursions such as going to Niagara Falls, roller skating in Detroit, stretching their legs at HoliMont Parks in upstate New York, and the ever-so-coveted Waffle House in Austinburg, Ohio; Zeb and the rest of the crew then found themselves at Sugarbush Ski Area, in Warren, Vermont, for the third stop of the Red Bull Slide-In Tour.
Sugarbush never disappoints with their terrain park setup, with features scattered throughout the Riemergasse run, the gang got to work. While this stop did see the departure of our dearest compatriot, Grace Warner, it did see Slide-In Tour first-timer, Denver Orr, take center stage as the sun began to peek through the clouds. As everyone figured out their lines, the footage began to be stacked. Brantley got down on the down-flat-down rail at the bottom of the run, busting out a gap-to-BSBS on the down, and Jesse got her back with a tasteful gap-to-BS lipslide on that very same feature. Brantley’s NC-based homie, Charlotte Flowers, also joined us at Bush Parks. Charlotte came correct with a proper backside nose press on the down tube, the same down tube that lies adjacent to a knobbed rail Denver effortlessly BSBS through just a few moments later. Alex and Zeb flowed around the park all day, doing various notable tricks throughout the day; including Zeb doing a blunt-stall 180 in on the tallest quarterpipe feature. The clips continued to stack and the lift line continued to build; from 10-year-old ski racers to 20-year-old college students, everyone came out to see Zeb and the Slide-In Tour gang.
Killington Resort
After 10 days of travel and boarding down, the gang moved slowly on that snowy Sunday morning, in Killington, VT. With a few slow, sticky laps down, the gang found themselves in Red's Backyard; at the bottom of the run, putting on a clinic for all the lovely locals that had shown up on that sticky-snow-riddled day.
A morning clinic down, the crew found its way to the rainbow rail near the bottom of the park, where a spectacular session was able to get underway. Zeb came out the gate swinging, with a hand drag BS 180 over the top of the feature, while Alex Cacc backed him up with a blunt slide sameway, and Jesse did a beautiful BS 270 to switch.
With a Red Bull can shoot out of the way, and clips stacked for the day, down the mountain the gang went for the final autograph signing of the tour. An autograph line that rivaled the size of Pine Knob awaited the crew. Becky Kaleo, communications manager for Red Bull/all-around badass, referred to it as one of the largest lines she had ever seen, saying she felt like a true bouncer making sure the gang wasn’t overrun by an overwhelming amount of people at one time.
As soon as the autograph line finished, the gang hopped across the street to the hotel they’ve made home the past few nights, the Killington Grand Hotel. Following a much-needed hot shower, the gang made their way to dinner and drinks at Moguls, a classic Killington spot. The crew got underway with dinner, a few drinks, and then, of course, the turntables made an appearance. While some of the gang mixed it up on the DJ equipment, the rest played pool; and the others on the crew could finally relax, kick back, enjoy their drinks and reflect on what a time it was on the Red Bull Slide-In Tour 2024.
